As invited media, Din Tai Fung hosted WDWNT staff and provided complimentary food. As always, we will still provide our honest thoughts on all below.

Din Tai Fung at Downtown Disney District will have their grand opening on July 1 but we visited during the soft opening to try some of their menu items.

Din Tai Fung

The restaurant is located near the new Downtown Disney District security plaza on the west end. The exterior is inspired by Chinese architecture with a curved roof.

“Din Tai Fung” is in red Chinese characters and English letters above the door.

Inside, hundreds of beads on strings hang over a circular bar.

Chinese lanterns hang between glass cabinets of liquor bottles.

There are curved red benches.

Din Tai Fung merchandise will be available after opening.

There is a long wall of windows looking into the kitchen.

Guests can watch the chefs create Xiao Long Bao, their signature dumplings dish.

Din Tai Fung Menu

A limited menu is available during the soft opening period. We ordered some of Din Tai Fung’s most popular dishes, including Xiao Long Bao.

The story of Din Tai Fung is recounted on the back of the menu. It features an image of the original hand-painted sign from their first shop, which Bing-Yi Yang and Pen-Mei Lai opened in Taiwan in 1958.

The drinks menu is black with “Din Tai Fung” debossed on the cover.

Of the signature drinks, we ordered the DTF Old Fashioned.

Vinegar and soy sauce is on the table.

There’s also a sign about how to eat Xiao Long Bao.

DTF Old Fashioned – $19

This old-fashioned was absolute perfection. The Taiwanese whiskey was super light — no bite of alcohol at all. There was a hint of citrus to tie this together nicely.

The Asian whiskeys are usually very well done and this was amazing. Just a tiny hint of smokiness to let you know it was there, but overall this was very drinkable, very light, and refreshing as far as old-fashioneds go. We could continue to drink this throughout the meal.

Rating out of 7: 7

Pork Xiao Long Bun – $18.50

These were beyond amazing. The bao is perfectly steamed and super light. You can absolutely tell these were freshly made minutes ago.

The filling explodes in your mouth for an amazing umami flavor. The pork is perfectly seasoned and cooked with a hint of ginger. We followed the directions for the dipping sauce, which set it over the top. There’s a bit of liquid inside along with the pork.

We would stop at Din Tai Fung during every Downtown Disney District visit just to eat these.

Rating out of 7: 7

Steamed Soup with Beef Short Ribs – $21

Of all of the dishes, this was probably our least favorite. Still, we’re giving it a 6/7. The soup was light and the broth had a nice deep flavor. The short rib was absolute perfection. It was tender and melted in your mouth.

The bok choy was perfectly cooked. The noodles were a little bit challenging to get out of the giant bowl and into your smaller bowl. But they were also cooked perfectly. You could tell they were fresh and the broth had this nice beef flavor. This was a nice way to start the meal.

Rating out of 7: 6

Wok Fried Noodles with Shrimp – $19.50

This was a favorite. The shrimp was perfect. It wasn’t chewy at all.

Again, you could tell the noodles were freshly made. The cabbage was light and crispy, adding some texture. There was a ton of spinach throughout that we enjoyed. It wasn’t slimy and helped keep the dish from being too greasy.

The soy sauce had a nice light flavor. The green onion-infused oil wasn’t overpowering. This was a nice, light shrimp noodle dish.

Rating out of 7: 6

Noodles with Diced Beef and Szechuan Peppers – $15.50

This dish is beautifully presented but it is recommended you thoroughly mix it before eating.

This was another favorite. It’s thin egg noodles topped with a spicy and herbaceous mixture of diced beef. It has a ton of flavors from the different ingredients. There was a heavy cilantro flavor, so skip this if you don’t like cilantro.

There’s not a ton of beef but what’s there is super tender and well done. We were concerned this would be super spicy but it’s not overly spicy at all. There’s just enough heat for you to know it’s there.

This is definitely worth a try.

Rating out of 7: 6

Steamed Buns with Kurobuta Pork – $10

Disney needs to take note of how to make bao. This comes with two giant steamed buns. Just like the Xiao Long Bao, these are super light and perfectly steamed. You could tell it was made fresh just a few minutes earlier.

We prefer the Xiao Long Bao but these were still great. There was an overall pork flavor with a hint of ginger. If you’re looking for something hardier, this might be the way to go.

This has set our expectations high for any future bao offerings at Disney.

Rating out of 7: 7

Chocolate & Mochi Xiao Long Bao – $11.50

This is probably in the top five best things we’ve ever eaten It’s phenomenal. We can barely find the words.

One serving of this dessert comes with five bite-sized buns. The bao itself is just like those of the pork dishes — super soft and freshly made. This was served very hot. It was like a molten chocolate lava cake exploding in your mouth.

Chocolate was the dominant flavor. Chocolate fans will absolutely love this. It’s not overly sweet but sweet enough to be a dessert.

It’s life-changing. Run, do not walk, and get this immediately. We can’t even stick to our usual 7/7 scale.

Rating out of 7: 10

Red Bean Steamed Buns – $9

Unfortunately, this was served directly after the chocolate mochi, which was a tough act to follow. But this was still a solid dessert offering. Similar to the giant pork, there are two buns. They’re filled with giant servings of red bean paste.

Fans of red bean paste will really enjoy this. It is more adventurous if it’s not your typical dessert. There’s no sweetness at all. It reminds us of refried beans but in a dessert way.

Definitely give it a try if you want to have something other than the chocolate mochi.

Rating out of 7: 6

Overall

Din Tai Fung was crowded during our visit and we can see why. The food was phenomenal and so was the service.

Our server, Andrew, went above and beyond to ensure we had a fantastic time and that we were constantly taken care of. He answered all of our questions about the menu and made lots of recommendations. We also want to compliment them for being allergy-conscious. One in our group is allergic to mushrooms and they were very accommodating.

There are other Din Tai Fung locations across Los Angeles and Orange County so you don’t necessarily need to come to Downtown Disney District to enjoy this food. But it is a great addition to Disneyland Resort. Because it’s so crowded and bound to continue being popular, we definitely recommend reservations.

We love that you can watch them making the dumplings. We can only imagine that the rest of the food and drinks were also great. They have a good selection of Asian sake and whiskeys. The food is served family-style, which we love because you can start small and build from there. We’re still dreaming about the pork and chocolate Xiao Long Baos.

If we had to pick one negative, it was loud in the restaurant. But that’s it. Din Tai Fung is a 7/7.

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